Archaeology

There is a wealth of archaeology within the Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings site.

In 2018 the Friends were invited to help with a different type of archaeology, when we had the opportunity to look at the walls of the Cross Mill. Under the guidance of a trained archaeologist, our group of volunteers was able to peel back layers of paint on some of the walls. The discoveries led us straight back to WWII, when the Maltings were in use as Infantry Training Centre for the King's Shropshire Light Infantry.

Whilst stationed at the Maltings, the soldiers created some graffiti, which was recorded by our volunteers. We discovered a variety of pencil marks: from dart board scores, to names, to drawings of a woman and an aeroplane dogfight. Our volunteers are currently working on transcribing the Soldiers' Registers which are with the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum and are inputted into the Recording Remembrance database, and perhaps we will be able to match up the registers with some of the names on the walls. We aim to share the findings with the public soon.  

As part of the redevelopment we have also worked with our project partners and consultants Oxford Archaeology North to involve the community in recording and understanding the site’s heritage in 2013.

An excavation trench was dug around a group of former outbuildings including a stable and a wash house, followed by a week of post excavation work.

We were delighted to welcome over 50 volunteers into the project team. They had a chance to get hands on with the excavation and many were involved with cataloguing and drawing finds, photographic tasks and producing a record of this exciting event.

You can read the project blog here 

Currently there are no further community archaeology projects planned.